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@NewScientist reported that a 2023 submersible expedition located 485 whale-fall and fossil sites in the Diamantina Zone. The find includes a new extinct beaked-whale species and specimens up to 5.26 million years old.
Researchers located the world's deepest known whale graveyard during 32 crewed submersible dives along 1200 kilometres of seafloor in the Diamantina Zone of the southern Indian Ocean. The first fossils appeared at 7002 metres in the Dordrecht Deep section, more than 1100 kilometres south-west of Perth, Western Australia.
The team recorded densities reaching 760 individual whales per square kilometre across active whale-fall and fossil sites.
Expedition members collected 43 specimens dated between 120,000 and 5.26 million years old. One new species, Pterocetus diamantinae, has been formally described. Younger fossils were dominated by Andrews’ beaked whale and the strap-toothed whale.
Invertebrates at the sites reached densities of up to 2800 individuals per square metre, feeding on recent carcasses that included a 5-metre Antarctic minke whale. The expedition formed part of the Global Hadal Exploration Programme and the Indian Ocean Global TREnD programme.
Xiaotong Peng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said most fossils are hyper-dense beaked-whale rostra that resist degradation.
Slow sediment deposition of 0.05 to 0.55 millimetres per thousand years and ferromanganese oxide coatings further preserved the bones. Culum Brown of Macquarie University, who was not involved in the study, called the find an “amazing discovery” and noted the incredible density of remains. The study appeared in Nature with DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-10546-z.
The IndependentRecord spring rains and snowmelt flooded northern Michigan homes, exposing gaps in federal flood maps and insurance access for thousands of residents. Many property owners had been told they were outside mapped flood zones and could not obtain coverage.
Temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius across much of western and central Europe on June 21, prompting red alerts, rail cancellations, and wildfire evacuations. The heat surge is expected to continue at least until midweek.
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